JLF.L Regulatory News (JLF)

19 May 2005 07:04

Jelf Group PLC19 May 2005 Jelf Group plcAcquisition of Insurance Operation The Board of Jelf Group plc, an established corporate intermediary, todayannounces that it has acquired the South West, Taunton based operations of RKHarrison Insurance ("RKH"), together with the recruitment of its successfulinsurance team of seven people. Jelf Group is based in the West Country and Wales and offers a range ofcorporate services principally in the areas of commercial insurance, healthcare,employee benefits and financial planning. The move adds a further annualised £0.75m to Jelf's insurance commission incomeand will generate EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax depreciation andamortisation) margins in excess of 25 %. The consideration being paid for the business is £0.98m based on three stagepayments over a 13 month period and is subject to clawback if business targetsare not achieved. The Company will use the funds it raised from its flotationlast year to pay for the transaction in addition to existing cash flows. RKH will continue to operate from its Taunton offices under the on-goingmanagement of Alan Covey whose previous business, Covey Insurance Brokers, wassold to RKH in 2003. Following this acquisition, Jelf now has offices in eightlocations across the South West of England and Wales. Commenting on the acquisition, Jelf Group's Chief Executive Alex Alway, said: "This is Jelf's tenth acquisition and is in line with our stated strategy ofputting real scale into our insurance operations. The combination of RKH and thedevelopments in our Welsh operations announced earlier this year will enable usto make a further quantum leap in our business by offering our combinedportfolio of clients a wider range of services." For further information: Emma Kane/Sanna Lehtinen Tel: 020 7955 1410Redleaf Communications Mob: 07876 338339 Alex Alway and John Harding are contactable on 19th May via RedleafCommunications on the numbers shown above. Notes to Editors: • Jelf Group was founded by Chris Jelf in 1989. Today, the Jelf Group operates from a number of premises in the West Country and Wales and offers an extensive range of corporate services;• The Group advises over 4,000 corporate clients across a range of disciplines. These clients cover the spectrum from significant public companies to small owner managed businesses. Core Jelf clients are medium sized owner-managed businesses, typically employing between one to 50 staff, with a turnover of up to £10 million;• The Group has developed a corporate support infrastructure that has enabled it to make a number of acquisitions over the last four years. These acquisitions span all core areas of the Group's business and have been made to either supplement existing operations or acquire a corporate client base that can be utilised by the enlarged Group. The significant acquisitions were as follows: o 2000 - IFM - IFA based in Bristol - relocated to Yate, Bristol; o 2001 - Corporate Healthcare Management - Healthcare partnership; o 2002 - Spring Gate Insurance - Purchase of a book of commercial insurance; o 2003 - Richard Levinge Associates - IFA business based in Cheltenham; o 2003 - SLF Insurance (Services) Ltd - Purchase of a book of commercial insurance; o 2003 - Kallender Walwyn Ltd - Purchase of commercial insurance business based in Trowbridge; and o 2003 - Pontin and Stein - Corporate Healthcare partnership. o 2004 - Managed Healthcare Ltd - acquisition of independent Somerset based brokerage specialising in healthcare and private medical insurance o 2005 - Arnold Wills - acquisition of independent financial advisor based in Somerset• Further information is available on Jelf at the Company's website: www.jelfgroup.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange